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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — of a king
  4. fine — high quality
  5. club — for dancing
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. press — newspapers
  13. club — a group
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. court — of law
  17. file — a tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. capital — a city
  20. fine — all right
  21. file — a document
  22. club — for golf
  23. file — a line of people
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com